Automatic sampling apparatus



M.. M, r n, n .vv 2, e w e n 3 d e Hl f W 2 Q w e m O u?, 4, a., /a [L n2 #f ,a C, h a u/ S W L 3 e n "f e /au a c m W/f m A 0 m I aJ V W mm wM.. E G 9m R m 2 O L l L P V s I l l l I l l l Il M O l I l l s l I I ll 1 Il c s N Tm C d l l l l lll/1 w V I M M F J M m r w Wai July l,1947. v. c. LORENZ AUTOMATIC SAMPLING APPARATUS s sheets-sneek 2Filednov, 22, 194s auna/elf?? July 1, 1947.

v. c. LORENZ f 2,423,242 AUTOMATIC SAMPLING APPARATUS Filed Nov.2.2,.1945 3 sheets-sheet s 39 vntor Vmcen' C. Lorenz Patented July 1,1947 AUTOMATIC SAMPLING APPARATUS VincentC. Lorenz, Anaconda,.Mont.,assignor ofiv one-fourth to Charles W. MorseL Anaconda,

Mont.

Application November 22, E43-,Serial No. 511,334;

(Cl. YSL-423) 12 Claims. V1

The present invention relates to improvements inautomaticY samplingapparatus, and more particularly to therdriving mechanism of the same.

An objectof: theinvention'is to provide a type of driving mechanismwhich is adapted to intermittent` operation and is susceptible toadjustmenty in. order tooperate at the desired intervals.`

Another object of' the invention is to provide aY driving" mechanism ofa simple and reliable form, not'. dependent on electrical timing` oractua-ting devices, and requiring a. minimum of servicev or maintenanceto keep it in satisfactory operating condition'.

A further objectof the invention is to provide an improved: drivingmechanism incorporating a device; that will require the mechanism tomake a completeV revolution.

A= further object of the invention is to provide an impro-ved drivingmechanism so constructed andv arranged' as to cause the sampling deviceto cutxrapidly through theentire stream, in fact so rapidly thattheobjectionable riie cutter usually employed infthe launder to reducethe volume of the stream to be sampled may be done away with.

A. still further object of the invention is to provide-2a stop mechanismfor the driving'mechanisnfrJ which'` Will damp the oscillations of themechanism after the same has completed a full stroke, and which willbring the driving mechanism; rapidly torest in a position of unstableequilibrium in readiness` for the next successive sample taking.

With the foregoing and other objects in View the invention* willi bemore fully describedA hereinafter and=willbe more fully pointed out inthe appended claims.`

In the drawings in which like or'corresponding referencey charactersdenote the same or similar partsthroughout 'the several views,

Figure l is a side elevation, with parts broken away; showing animprovedl automaticsampling equipment and driving mechanism constructedin accordance with the present invention.

Figurerz is an end View of the same, with parts broken away` and partsshown in section.

Figure 3A is a perspective view of the improved bucket employed.

Figure i is a fragmentary side View of the imu proved stop or checkdevice showing the same in full and dotted line positions.

Figure 5is a vertical section taken on the line 5---5A in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a* fragmentary perspective view 2 showing the arcuate basesupport and hook and trigger device.

Figure '1 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on anenlargedlscalethroughthe bas-e or trough support and through the hook and trigger andassociated devices.

Figure 8` is a fragmentary side view with parts broken away.` and partsshown in section of the sample'receiver and its support, and

Figure 9 is avertical section taken on the line 9- 9in Figure 8.

Referring` more particularly to the drawings IB Ydesignates a bucket,partially covered by a hood'y H andmountedrigidly on an arm lf2; Sucharm formsa part of, or is rigidlyattached to, a shaft. I3 journaled inbearings I carried upon an appropriate support or portion or theframework or" the sampling equipment.

The bucket is continuously fed with water from a nozzle l5 supplied,under constant head, from a' supply tank (not shown) or other suitablesource.

Aiixed to the shaft I3 is a rod I6 Carrying a weight I1 fixed on therod. The rod I6 or the weight L1 carries a foot or shoe I8 which ispreferably irusto-conicalin form. The rod I6 or shoe t8 is adapted torest against the free end of a flexible liat spring I9- carried by asuitable part of the apparatus and biased'to an upwardly curled position(Figure 1- and Figure 4) which invades the circle of movementtraversedby the shoe I8, for which see the dotted position of Figure 4.

Asbest seen in Figure 7, a stop 20 is pivoted at 2| in a supportingblock 22-and is equipped with a hook 23 at one enol and a trigger 2li atits other end. The block 22 has lugs 25. embracing the sides of the head26 orA a rod` 21. The head and lugs are pivoted together on the pivotpin 28. rBhe rod 21 carries a collar 29 normally abutting against a`stop Wall 3@ which also serves as a bearing `through which the rod 21may reciprocate. The stop wall 3l) also subserves a third function as anabutment wall against which one end of. a coil spring 3l engages. Theother end of this coil spring (Figure l) abuts against a flange 32 of anadjusting nut 33 Which may be threaded upon the right end of the rod 21.The coilspring 3| is wound in a suitable number of convolutions orhelices about the rod 21 between the stop wall 311 and the nut 33. Theaxialthrust of the spring 3l against nut 33 biases rod 21 to a righthand position in which the stop collar 29 abuts-the wa1l'3.

Wall 3ilmay be a part of a housing 34 which enclosesa portion of the.spring 3 l, which supports the at flexible spring I9 and which providesan extension or base support 35 (Figures 6 and '1) of a trough shape incross section and of arcuate form in which to slidably and adjustablysupport the supporting block 22. In the base of this arcuate trough 35is a slit 36 through which projects the shank 31 of a screw threaded ina threaded socket 38 of the base of the supporting block 22. The head 39of the screw is wider than the slot 36 and slides along the bottomsurface of the trough or base 35 to hold the block 22 in the trough.

The shank of the screw passes freely through the slot 36 and ispreferably unthreaded at this portion so as to slide smoothly back andforth in the slot. The screw shank and head constitute guides for theblock 22 and also a holding or detent means to restrain the block in thetrough but permit the block to have free reciprocating movement.

By reference to Figure 1, attention is called to the fact that the flatexible spring I9 and the stop device 2 are so relatively arranged withrespect to rod I6 and its shoe or foot I8 that the arm I6 and weight I1,when at rest, will assume a position which is angularly offset from thevertical in a clockwise direction, which is the direction of rotation ofthe combined bucket I and counterbalancing weight I1 about shaft I3.

A waste water trough 49, drained by outlet 4I, is placed to receivewater dumped by the bucket I0 during its rotary` travel. The shaft I3has affixed thereon a bevel pinion 42 (Figure 2) disposed in mesh with acompanion bevel pinion 43 on a vertical shaft 44. The vertical shaft issupported by bearings 45 and 46. Near its lower end this shaft 44carries a wedge-shaped cutter 41 (Figures 8 and 9) having a narrow openslot 48 in its upper edge, the walls of the cutter 41 divergingdownwardly from such narrow slot 48, as seen in Figure 9. As seen inFigure 8, the base wall of the cutter 41 is diagonally disposeddownwardly to an opening 49 by which the lowermost portion of the cutter41 communicates with the interior of a hollow section 44a of the shaft44. This hollow section 44a extends down into a covered bucket 53. Thehollow shaft section 44a eX- tends down at one side of launder I (Figure1). The bucket 5! is disposed at one side and below the launder 5I asindicated by the broken away portions of the parts in Figures 1 and 2.

Launder 52 (Figure 2) spills its pulp into the launder 5I. The shaft 44and cutter are so located that the cutter may be rotated into the pulpstream.

The operation is as follows:

Water from the nozzle I5, regulated to give the desired frequency ofoperation, Slowly lls bucket I0 until the combined weight of the bucketI0 and its contents is sufficient to overcome the inertia of the offsetweight I1 and its rod or supporting arm IS. The bucket I0 thereuponswings down in a clockwise direction, as Viewed in Figure 1, lifting theweight I1. The shaft I3 is consequently rotated, bringing bucket I0 to abottom position where it dumps its water into the trough 4E). The hoodII prevents the water in the bucket from being spilled in the early partof the revolution. When the bucket Ill is in its lowest position thediametrically offset weight I1 has passed the vertical center line andits mass continues the revolution bringing the empty bucket I9 back toits original upper position of Figure 1. If no checks were provided, theshaft I3 would make several revolutions and oscillations before itfinally carne to rest. thus essential.

As weight I1 is traveling its circular path of movement and when itapproaches from the right its initial position (Figure 1), the foot orshoe I8, traveling along the lower arc of the circle, wipes across theupper face of the curved flat spring I9, depressing the free end of thisspring, which is followed by the pressing down of the trigger 24 and theelevation of the hook 23 into the path of circular movement of the footI8. When the foot I 8 strikes the hook 23 the momentum of the weight I1and entrained parts carries the hook 23 and the supporting block 22 tothe left for a distance dependent upon the strength of the coil spring3|. The length of screw shaft 31 relative to the depth of screw socket38 is such that the shank will strike the bottom of the socket beforethe screw head 39 binds upon the wall 3'5. Thus the screw head forms aguide at the lower surface of the wall 35 enabling the block 22 to slidefreely in the trough-like support.

As the rod 21 is coupled by pivot 28 to the block 22, the rod 21 will bepulled to the left with the hook 23 and will therefore cause compressionof the spring 3|. The spring 3I therefore determines the amount of theangular movement by which the foot I8 will carry the hook 23 in thesupport 35. The spring 3| also cushions the impact. When the foot I8 hasmoved so far around to the left as to slip off the end of the flatspring I9, such spring I9 will snap back upwardly to its originalposition (Figure 1). The weight I1 will return the rod I5 back againstthe free end of the spring I9. The hook 23, being heavier than trigger24, is now free to fall back to its original position where it is out ofthe path of the foot I8 and will not interfere with the next actuationof the' device. The sampler is now set for the next cycle.

The launder 52 is constantly spilling its pulp in the launder 5I. Theoperation of the drive, through the shaft I3, bevel pinions 42, 43 andshaft 44, causes the wedge-shaped cutter to revolve swiftly through theentire stream. After each revolution the cutter comes back to theposition shown by solid lines in Figure 1. The sample cut out of thestream runs into the hollow shaft section 44a and then into the samplebucket 50. The principal advantage of the improved sampler is that thecutter cuts the stream so rapidly that a small amount of sample is takenat each revolution, which in most cases will make it unnecessary to useriile cutters in the launder to cut out a portion of the stream to besampled.

The rilile cutters are objectionable, as, ordinarily installed, sincethey only cut out vertical slices of the pump in the launder and theslots choke with wood pulp or material thrown into A reliable stop isthe launder, and they do not cut out a representative sample.

The drive can operate other types of samplers or machines requiring onequick revolution of shaft I3 either directly or by means of varioustransmission parts, such as worm or spur gearing.

It will be noted from Figure 1 that the centers of mass and gravity ofthe bucket I 0 are to the lead side of bracket arm I2 referred to thedirection of Clockwise rotation; and the bucket arm I2 .is normally in avertical position. Also the weight arm I6 is not on the same diameterwith bucket arm I2 but is offset from the diametric position by an anglewhich places the weight past its upper vertical position to the rightwhen the bucket is at its lowest point, thus insuringr the continuedrapid rotation of the drive mechanism.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention Without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modiiications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a movable sample cutter, a shaft coupled to drivesaid sample cutter, rigid arms fixed to said shaft at greater than 90but less than 180 apart, a correlative Water bucket and weight couplemounted for revolution in unstable equilibrium, said water bucket aiixedto one arm, said Weight affixed to the other arm, means to supply thebucket with liquid, a deformable resilient member against which theweight is adapted to rest in normal position, a foot carried around withthe weight in a path intersecting the normal position of said member fordepressing the member out of the path of the revolving weight, a weightcheck normally biased to inoperative position and movable into the pathof said foot, and means for so moving said check and constructed andarranged for cooperating with said member to be operated by the memberwhen deformed.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which said weight check devicecomprises a stop normally biased to a position out of the path ofmovement of said foot, said means being positioned to be actuated bysaid resilient member to overcome such bias and shift the stop into saidpath, and resilient means for cushioning the movement of said stop.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which said weight `check comprises amovable stop normally biased to a position out of the path of movementof said foot and said means comprising a trigger arranged to be moved bysaid deformable resilient member to shift the stop into the path of thefoot.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which said check comprises a rockerhaving a hook and said means comprising a trigger connected to the hookand positioned to be moved by the deformable resilient member to shiftthe hook into the path of the foot.

5. The combination of claim 1 in which said check comprises a pivotedstop member and said means comprising a tail-piece, with the stop memberweighted to seek a normal position out of the path of movement of thefoot, said deformable resilient member being normally in the path ofmovement of the foot and moved thereby out of such path, and positionedto shift the tail-r piece and thereby the stop member into the path ofmovement of the foot.

6. The combination of'claim 1, further characterized by the fact thatthe weight check is carried by a support capable of movement in thedirection of movement of the weight and foot, and resilient restrainingmeans coupled to said support.

7. The combination of claim 1 in which said Weight check devicecomprises a movable support, resilient restraining means coupled to saidmovable support, stop means on the support biased to an inoperativeposition out of the path of movement of said foot and said first-namedmeans comprising a tail-piece positioned to be engaged by saiddeformable resilient member whereby to shift said stop means into saidpath of movement.

8. The combination of claim 1 further comprising means to initially holdthe arms with the bucket positioned beneath the liquid supply means.

9. The combination of claim 1 in which the bucket is eccentricallycarried by the bucket carrying arm with the center of mass of the bucketoffset to the leading side of the bucket referred toits direction ofrotation.

10. In combination with one launder spilling its contents into anotherlaunder, a sample cutter, a rotary shaft carrying the sample cutter, adrive shaft geared to said first shaft, rigid arms connected to saiddrive shaft at greater than but less than apart, a correlative waterbucket and weight couple mounted for revolution in unstable equilibrium,said bucket carried by one arm with its center of gravity offset to thelead side of the direction of bucket revolution, said weight carried bythe other arm, means to support the Weight in a position oifset from thevertical line to the bucket toward the lead side of the direction ofweight revolution, and means to arrest the revolution after one turn.

11. In combination with one launder spilling its contents into anotherlaunder, a movable sample cutter, a shaft coupled to drive said samplecutter, rigid arms fixed to said shaft at greater than 90 but less than180 apart, a correlative water bucket and weight couple mounted forrevolution in unstable equilibrium, said bucket carried by one arm, saidweight carried by the other arm means to supply the bucket with liquid,a deformable resilient member against which the weight is adapted torest in normal position, a foot carried around with the weight in a pathintersecting the normal position of said member for depressing themember out of the path of the revolving weight, and a check devicecomprising a stop normally biased to a position out of the path ofmovement of the foot, and means for moving the stop into such path ofmovement.

12. The combination of claim 11, wherein the bucket is open-topped witha hood over the leading side of the top to avoid premature dumping inthe revolution of the bucket.

VINCENT C. LORENZ.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,151,009 Haskell Aug. 24, 19151,466,861 Tuttle et al. Sept. 4, 1923 1,688,782 Brugger Oct. 23, 19281,788,110 Junghans Jan. 6, 1931 1,641,748 Dresser et al. Sept. 6, 19272,270,511 Crain Jan. 20, 1942

